HP 97: The first "laptop computer"?

[Dave Britten]

And if it's not, what is? I was looking around a bit for something else that's lap-sized, battery-powered, programmable, and with some sort of storage and/or printing capability, but couldn't find anything predating the 97.

Does HP hold the claim to not only the first handheld "computer" (65), but also the first "laptop"?

[Thomas Okken]

I'd say the first laptop was the Epson HX-20. It was introduced a few years later than the HP-97, but it has capabilities that are more in line with what I usually think of as a computer, rather than a calculator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_HX-20

[KF6GPE]

The MCM/70 is a candidate, too --- and came out much earlier. Didn't sell nearly as many units as the Epson.

The IEEE Annals of the History of Computing has a good article about it at The Making of the MCM/70 Microcomputer (this is in their library, and may not be available for free).

[Dave Britten]

(06-13-2020 04:24 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  I'd say the first laptop was the Epson HX-20. It was introduced a few years later than the HP-97, but it has capabilities that are more in line with what I usually think of as a computer, rather than a calculator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_HX-20

Yeah, the HX-20 is definitely the first laptop to resemble what we now expect a computer to look like, with a QWERTY keyboard and character display. But a PDP/8 mainframe has neither, and thus while it looks quite different from what we would expect a computer to look like today, there's no denying that it is one. So I think it becomes kind of a murky philosophical debate whether we can call something a "computer" or a "calculator".

(06-13-2020 06:00 PM)KF6GPE Wrote:  The MCM/70 is a candidate, too --- and came out much earlier. Didn't sell nearly as many units as the Epson.

The IEEE Annals of the History of Computing has a good article about it at The Making of the MCM/70 Microcomputer (this is in their library, and may not be available for free).

Oh yeah, that could certainly qualify. Though at 20 lbs, I don't know whether you'd want to use it on your lap very long. It would be better than a 40 lb HP 9100A at least.

[Thomas Okken]

(06-13-2020 08:24 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Yeah, the HX-20 is definitely the first laptop to resemble what we now expect a computer to look like, with a QWERTY keyboard and character display. But a PDP/8 mainframe has neither, and thus while it looks quite different from what we would expect a computer to look like today, there's no denying that it is one. So I think it becomes kind of a murky philosophical debate whether we can call something a "computer" or a "calculator".

It's not that murky. A PDP-8 may not have a built-in keyboard and monitor (neither do lots of modern computers, including typical tower PCs, rack-mounted servers, or the Mac mini sitting next to my TV), but you interact with it through a terminal, which provides those components. So the QWERTY keyboard and character display are typically part of the way we interact with computers anyway.

[TomC]

Along These lines the Tandy 100 an 102 are fine early laptops also.

And if I remember correctly some of Bill Gates last programming work was done for the Tandy 100.

Happy June,
TomC

[toml_12953]

(06-13-2020 08:24 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Oh yeah, that could certainly qualify. Though at 20 lbs, I don't know whether you'd want to use it on your lap very long. It would be better than a 40 lb HP 9100A at least.

OK, I'll gladly take a 40 pound HP 9100A or B off your hands (and lap?) and give you a brand new laptop computer that only weighs about two pounds and can run rings around the old, obsolete HP!

[teenix]

(06-14-2020 02:32 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  OK, I'll gladly take a 40 pound HP 9100A or B off your hands (and lap?) and give you a brand new laptop computer that only weighs about two pounds and can run rings around the old, obsolete HP!

What about an old laptop with a HP9100B emulator, does that qualify ;-)

cheers

Tony

[toml_12953]

(06-14-2020 06:42 AM)teenix Wrote:  

(06-14-2020 02:32 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  OK, I'll gladly take a 40 pound HP 9100A or B off your hands (and lap?) and give you a brand new laptop computer that only weighs about two pounds and can run rings around the old, obsolete HP!

What about an old laptop with a HP9100B emulator, does that qualify ;-)

cheers

Tony

How much does it weigh?

[teenix]

(06-14-2020 07:25 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(06-14-2020 06:42 AM)teenix Wrote:  What about an old laptop with a HP9100B emulator, does that qualify ;-)

cheers

Tony

How much does it weigh?

Almost a bit

Sorry, it's late

cheers

Tony

[Dave Britten]

(06-14-2020 07:25 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(06-14-2020 06:42 AM)teenix Wrote:  What about an old laptop with a HP9100B emulator, does that qualify ;-)

cheers

Tony

How much does it weigh?

Depends on how many program cards you've stuffed into it.

[toml_12953]

(06-14-2020 12:34 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(06-14-2020 07:25 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  How much does it weigh?

Depends on how many program cards you've stuffed into it.

Hee hee! I almost convinced a guy to delete data off his laptop when he said it was too heavy. I wouldn't have actually let him do it, though.

[Jim Horn]

I guess that's one way to make it a bit less heavy!